First I saw this cute licorice concept and I almost peed my pants because it’s really cute. This has happened to you before, so don’t go acting like it hasn’t.
Then I started talking it through… looks easy… I’ll just pick up some multi colored licorice… toss in some gold foil wrapped candy… use this awesome printable… all good.
Oi! As with so many things on Pinterest, the really great stuff is posted by really amazing artists and designers. Evern with their spring board of a great idea, you have to fidget the hell out of the project to make it work for you and with what you can find.
Step number one. For St. Patty’s sake, do you know how many places I looked for plain cellophane bags just the right size for 4 vines of licorice? I found super big ones, super decorated ones, but never super perfect ones. So, I settled. My bags were fairly big (could accommodate lots and lots of licorice.
Then I began step number two. Find colorful licorice. Oh Jeez. My pursuit of the colorful licorice did lead me to an offshoot of this project that I ended up loving as much if not more than the original plan. But let me tell you, Wal-Mart may say they have rainbow twizzlers in stock, they do not. I ended up buying mine in bulk at a specialty foods market and spending about $24 on licorice and had enough to make more than 20 items – about 18 more than I had planned to need.
The “gold” at the end of the rainbow was far easier to come by. I used both rolos and Hershey’s Nuggets with Almonds. I also considered using Lindt truffles and Ferrero Rocher.
The main lesson I learned about making this project was this, there are a lot of things that come in rainbow colors or in rainbow packaging. I considered using everything from Rainbow Goldfish to Skittles (the sour ones came in a green box). I did like the individual twisted twizzlers for my single serving size option.
The labels were easy. I used both sizes offered by the talented http://bethproudfoot.blogspot.com/. And because my craft room is actually unavailable to me due to remodeling, I just used whatever ribbon and papers I could pull out of storage. I assembled most of the bags and toppers with a stapler and then used ribbons and the printables I found online to hide the staples.
Before I forget, let’s talk about smaller servings. I found the rainbow twisted Twizzlers in a single serving size, individually wrapped package and picked them up as a back-up in case I never found bulk licorice. Once I had them I decided I’d use them for the same treat on a different scale. I loved them as a handout in for my 5-yol’s class.
My favorite embellishments were the sparkly shamrocks I found at JoAnn’s. They were fabric mesh adhesive just like a Band-Aid and were so easy to use and very sticky. I think, however, this is a seasonal item so stock up now. (I found them while standing in line by the dollar items.)
This project helped me fall in love with rainbows, again. Now, I’m off to bake those cupcakes with the rainbow airheads on top.
